Dentrix G5 Antivirus and Firewall Settings
Dentrix G5 provides many improvements over G4, such as Dentrix Mobile, SQL database management, and overall ease of use. However, their restructured database and increased network activity calls for a complete reconfiguration of your firewall and antivirus software. In some cases, an antivirus that worked just fine with Dentrix G4 can not be reconfigured to provide all of the rights to the constant network activity that Dentrix G5 demands. If this is the case, then you may need to look elsewhere for an antivirus solution.
After installing Dentrix G5, reconfigure your antivirus & firewall
Here are all of the documents from Dentrix support that you need for reconfiguring your antivirus and firewall for Dentrix G5:
Antivirus software is required, even on a Dentrix G5 server
Even though Dentrix G5 should be running on a dedicated server where no browsing or email takes place, antivirus software is still not only recommended, it is vital to HIPAA compliance and data security. Viruses do not always come from email or browsers – we have seen viruses begin on one PC, and infect networked PCs. Since a lateral infestation can occur over a network, it is absolutely necessary to have a robust antivirus software running on your dedicated server.
I mention this because it is a commonly heard argument that antivirus software is not needed, or that a free low-profile antivirus is enough for a Dentrix server due to its access restrictions. This is not the case, and it’s an important point when considering a course of action to remedy speed issues on the network. Instead of disabling it, exceptions can usually be added to allow the network activity Dentrix G5 requires.
Free antivirus software is not enough
One of the stipulations of HIPAA is that your dental practice uses “currently supported software”. The issue with most of the free antivirus solutions is that they are not licensed for commercial use, which translates to it not only being illegal, but noncompliant as well. Additionally, a free antivirus software will not have the reporting capabilities in place that are provided by a business-class antivirus. While some free software such as Microsoft Security Essentials may not constitute a licensing issue, the software is unmanaged and does not have the reporting capability to pinpoint to source of infection. There are many low-cost business-class antivirus solutions out there, and its a good idea to cover your bases with both protection and reportability as required by HIPAA.
All antivirus software can be circumvented by user interaction
No matter which antivirus software you are using, your employees must be trained to stay diligent. Opening a virus-infected link or downloading an infected application will present you with a button to click – “Scan Your PC” is a common one, as is “Your PC is Running Slow”. Many of these tricks are designed to have a user click their button, which is mapped to override the current security software in place. This is why reportability is absolutely necessary. An antivirus software must be able to report on the source of the virus, and if data is compromised, a list of patient records is necessary for reporting your HIPAA breach.
Finding the right antivirus for Dentrix G5
In practice, there are only a couple of antiviruses which will bog down the network activity from Dentrix G5. For more information on configurations that work well, contact our dental technicians for some free advice. dmi Networking can also provide a free onsite HIPAA consultation to assess and remediate all of your data security needs.